Right to Information is one of the fundamental rights recognized by international law. Research shows that in June 2006 nearly 70 countries had freedom to information legislation applying to information held by government and certain circumstances.
RTI may also extend to private bodies in my opinion.
Article 7, section 3 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan declares that ” A Bhutanese citizen shall have right to information”. It becomes the fundamental right of a citizen to be informed citizenry. A person can ask the government and seek information which he thinks is appropriate for him.
But why the government is being so skeptical about RTI bill?
Skeptical because government is concerned about the sovereignty and security of the state. But I personally feel any of the rational Bhutanese citizen won’t ask for any sensitive information pertinent to our sovereignty either.
Honorable MP Dasho Sangay Khandu has taken so much of efforts to draft RTI bill. I express my heartfelt appreciation for his initiative but it is very unfortunate to no support for this bill. But our constitution guarantees us with the right to information. So I think we don’t need any further separate legislation to exercise this fundamental right.